HTC One M9 First Look: The Best Looking Android Smartphone so far

HTC's high-end smartphones are known for their built quality, screens, BoomSound speakers, and of course, price. The HTC One M9 is no exception, as it combines the best design elements from the previous generation flagship phones.

It might look similar to the original HTC One (M8) in terms of the design, but let's not forget that HTC has once again managed to come up with yet another good looking handset that makes an impression.

HTC One M9 First Look: Form Factor, Design, Display and Operating System

On the design side, it'd be hard to figure out to see a difference between the HTC One M9 and One M8 at a first look. The makers have kept the same 5-inch full-HD 1080p display, but the One M9 is slightly slimmer and lighter than the M8.

The front-facing BoomSound speakers remain from last year, but the One M9 adds Dolby Audio Surround processing, which shows HTC's commitment to deliver the best sound experience on a mobile device.

The phone has slightly angular at the front and curved at the back. To be honest, this is a tiny improvement; in reality, though it does make a difference.

HTC says the One M9 will be available in silver and gold; brushed grey and shiny grey, and gold and matte gold. In the true sense, the One M9 does look and feel simply stunning.

While other key players in the handset business are fond of gigantic displays, meanwhile, HTC has kept the screen at 5-inches, Full HD 1080p. The screen is bright and offers good viewing angles.

Android 5.0 Lollipop is running out of the box. Yet again, HTC has tried to improve its native Sense UI. This time around there are plenty of personalization features added to enhance the overall experience. There is now a home-screen widget that can serve up frequently used apps based on your location. In addition, HTC Blinkfeed also displays location-based recommendations for points of interests.

HTC One M9 First Look: Processor, RAM and Connectivity

HTC isn't the first device to pack a Snapdragon 810 processor under the hood. Graphics are dealt with by an Adreno 430, coupled with 3GB of RAM, and also add 32GB of storage, which can be expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. There are no other storage options available, at least, as of now.

As expected, opening apps and scrolling through menus the One M9 feels so much smooth and fast. We can't compare the HTC One M9 with its rival devices due to the unavailability of the device, but we do know that the device will outperform its key competitors. Connectivity options are standard, with support for 4G, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4 and NFC.

HTC One M9 First Look: Camera and Video

The biggest hardware change comes in the imaging department. No more you'll find an UltraPixel back camera. Instead, there is a 20-megapixel camera with duo flash. The 20MP rear-facing camera is capable of recording 4K video. Notably, the front-facing camera has been upgraded to an UltraPixel shooter, which promises better performance.

The camera lens on the back of the device is coated in sapphire glass to keep it from damage, equipped with optical image stabilization (OIS). Unfortunately, the back camera lacks phase detection autofocus, which will likely to draw criticism.

HTC One M9 First Look: Battery and Early Verdict

And speaking of the battery, HTC has tried to improve the battery capacity moving up from 2,600mAh to 2,840mAh battery life.

To be precise, HTC One M9 might look same as its predecessor but there's nothing wrong with that. Instead of introducing the One M9 with an all-new design, the makers have tried to improve its past mistakes, which should be seen as the right approach. However, we do like to mention that HTC's native Sense 7 UI still needs an improvement. Pricing has yet to be announced for the HTC One M9 for the Indian market.